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Tesla Semi makes a Super Bowl appearance

Credit: u/revsky on the r/TeslaMotors subreddit

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A Tesla Semi unit is in Glendale, Arizona, for Super Bowl LVII in an epic matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, with Frito Lay taking center stage as the company’s colors wrap the all-electric truck.

A Tesla Semi was spotted in Glendale, and an image was posted to the r/TeslaMotors subreddit. The truck was spotted at North 2nd St. and E Portland St. in Downtown Glendale, where people said a stage was being built for a concert. With the Super Bowl, an entire week of events precedes the game itself, which is held on Sunday.

tesla semi super bowl

Credit: u/revsky on the r/TeslaMotors subreddit

It appears the Semi could have been hauling equipment for the Day 3 Events of the Super Bowl Experience, which include a concert from Jimmy Eat World. The concert is set to take place at Hance Park, which is just a half-mile walk away from where the Semi was spotted.

We reached out to Frito Lay’s Modesto plant, but they were not immediately available to respond to our questions regarding the Semi’s exact reasons for being in Glendale.

Just as Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes will battle Jalen Hurts for the Super Bowl crown on Sunday, the Tesla Semi is competing with other all-electric trucks for market domination.

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Tesla kicked off deliveries of the Semi in December, but it was not the first vehicle of its kind to the market. Daimler, Volvo, Nikola, and others had sold all-electric class 8 units before Tesla did.

However, the Semi has incredible range ratings, backed up by a treacherous 500-mile route that was captured on video.

Tesla has only delivered Semi units to Frito Lay in Modesto, California. Parent company PepsiCo. told Teslarati earlier this year that it expects to take delivery of fifteen total Tesla all-electric Semis in 2023, which have contributed to a more than 90 cut in greenhouse gas emissions as a part of the company’s widespread sustainability mission.

Tesla will broaden Semi output in the coming years to help companies offer more sustainable fleets. The company recently announced a $3.6 billion investment to expand its factory in Nevada to supplement broader Semi production.

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I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Music City Loop could highlight The Boring Company’s real disruption

The real story behind the tunneling startup’s Nashville tunnel project is the company’s targeted $25 million per mile construction cost.

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Credit: The Boring Company/X

Recent commentary on social media has highlighted what could very well prove to be The Boring Company’s real disruption.

The analysis was shared by tech watcher Aakash Gupta on social media platform X, where he argued that the real story behind the tunneling startup’s Nashville tunnel project is the company’s targeted $25 million per mile construction cost.

According to Gupta’s breakdown, Nashville’s 2018 light rail proposal was priced at roughly $200 million per mile. New York’s East Side Access project reportedly cost about $3.5 billion per mile, while Los Angeles Metro expansion projects have approached $1 billion per mile.

By comparison, The Boring Company has stated it can construct 13 miles of twin tunnels in the Music City Loop for between $240 million and $300 million total. That implies a cost near $25 million per mile, or roughly a 95% reduction from industry averages cited in the post.

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Several technical departures from conventional tunneling allow the Boring Company to lower its costs, from its smaller 12-foot diameter tunnels to its fully electric Prufrock machines that are designed to mine continuously with no personnel inside the tunnel and their capability to “porpoise” for easy launch and retrieval.

Tesla and Space CEO Elon Musk responded to the post on X, stating simply that “Tunnels are so underrated.”

The Boring Company has seen some momentum as of late, with the company recently signing a construction contract in Dubai and the Universal Orlando Loop progressing. Recent reports have also pointed to tunnels potentially being constructed to solve traffic congestion issues near the Giga Nevada area. 

While The Boring Company’s tunnels have so far been used for Loop systems publicly for now, Elon Musk recently noted that the tunneling startup’s underground passages would not be limited only to ride-hailing vehicles. 

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In a reply to a post on X which discussed the specifications of the Music City Loop, Musk clarified that “any fully autonomous electric cars can use the tunnels.” This suggests that vehicles potentially running systems like FSD Supervised, even if they are not Teslas, could be used in systems like the Music City Loop in the future.

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SpaceX IPO could push Elon Musk’s net worth past $1 trillion: Polymarket

The estimates were shared by the official Polymarket Money account on social media platform X.

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Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Recent projections have outlined how a potential $1.75 trillion SpaceX IPO could generate historic returns for early investors. The projections suggest the offering would not only become the largest IPO in history but could also result in unprecedented windfalls for some of the company’s key investors.

The estimates were shared by the official Polymarket Money account on social media platform X.

As noted in a Polymarket Money analysis, Elon Musk invested $100 million into SpaceX in 2002 and currently owns approximately 42% of the company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation following SpaceX’s potential $1.75 trillion IPO, that stake would be worth roughly $735 billion.

Such a figure would dramatically expand Musk’s net worth. When combined with his holdings in Tesla Inc. and other ventures, a public debut at that level could position him as the world’s first trillionaire, depending on market conditions at the time of listing.

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The Bloomberg Billionaires Index currently lists Elon Musk with a net worth of $666 billion, though a notable portion of this is tied to his TSLA stock. Tesla currently holds a market cap of $1.51 trillion, and Elon Musk’s currently holds about 13% to 15% of the company’s outstanding common stock.

Founders Fund, co-founded by Peter Thiel, invested $20 million in SpaceX in 2008. Polymarket Money estimates the firm owns between 1.5% and 3% of the private space company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation, that range would translate to approximately $26.25 billion to $52.5 billion in value.

That return would represent one of the most significant venture capital outcomes in modern Silicon Valley history, with a growth of 131,150% to 262,400%.

Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, invested $900 million into SpaceX in 2015 and is estimated to hold between 6% and 7% of the private space firm. At the projected IPO valuation, that stake could be worth between $105 billion and $122.5 billion. That’s a growth of 11,566% to 14,455%.

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Other major backers highlighted in the post include Fidelity Investments, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, Bank of America, and Andreessen Horowitz, each potentially sitting on multibillion-dollar gains.

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Tesla expands global FSD (Supervised) testing with Abu Dhabi trials

The program marks the emirate’s first formal testing framework for Tesla’s supervised autonomous driving technology.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla has started its first Full Self-Driving (Supervised) road trials in Abu Dhabi under the oversight of the Integrated Transport Centre, also known as Abu Dhabi Mobility. 

The program marks the emirate’s first formal testing framework for Tesla’s supervised autonomous driving technology.

FSD (Supervised) road trials are being conducted with the support of the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council and in coordination with the Legislation Lab at the General Secretariat of the UAE Cabinet.

Dr. Abdulla Hamad AlGhfeli, Acting Director General of the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility), highlighted the agency’s regulatory role in overseeing the FSD (Supervised) tests in a press release

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“The supervision of the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility) over the commencement of Tesla’s advanced autonomous driving technology tests reflects its regulatory and legislative role. These tests represent a qualitative step to evaluate the technology’s performance in a real-world operating environment and to collect the necessary data to verify its readiness before any future expansion in usage.

“Through this organized framework, and in cooperation with strategic partners, we seek to achieve a balance between supporting innovation and encouraging the adoption of smart solutions on one hand and ensuring the safety of road users on the other, in line with the emirate’s direction to develop an advanced, safe, and sustainable transport system,” he said. 

Tesla is putting a lot of effort into expanding the rollout of FSD (Supervised) to territories outside in the United States. During a recent interview with Giga Berlin plant manager Andre Thierig, Musk stated that Tesla is looking to secure approval for FSD (Supervised) in the Netherlands this coming March. 

“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told. Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive,” Musk stated.

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